Arsenal v Nott'm Forest

Forest predate Arsenal by more than twenty years, making them the oldest football league club south of the Scottish border.

A group of shinny players in Nottingham formed a football club that would become Nottingham Forest. They are the oldest football league club in the world based south of the Scottish border, predating Arsenal by over two decades. Forest played their early matches on the Forest Recreation Ground before eventually settling at the City Ground on the banks of the Trent.

Munitions workers named a football club after a drill bit; the rest is Premier League history.

Workers at the Royal Arsenal munitions factory in Woolwich formed Dial Square FC in October 1886, quickly renaming themselves Royal Arsenal. The club turned professional in 1891 and joined the Football League in 1893. Their south-east London origins would eventually give way to a move north of the river that changed the club's trajectory entirely.

Forest arrived as FA Cup holders; Arsenal arrived as Woolwich.

Arsenal (then Woolwich Arsenal) and Nottingham Forest first met in the Football League during the 1898-99 season in the Second Division. Forest had already won the FA Cup in 1898, establishing themselves as a force in English football. These early encounters set the stage for a fixture that would span three centuries of competition.

Five titles in a decade; Chapman's Arsenal didn't share the top flight so much as own it.

Under Herbert Chapman, Arsenal won their first league title in 1930-31 and went on to dominate the decade with five titles. Forest, meanwhile, spent much of this period in the Second Division. The fixture became a less regular occurrence, but when the two did meet, Arsenal's superiority was firmly established. Chapman's tactical innovations, including the WM formation, transformed English football.

Promoted one season, champions the next; Clough's Forest made the First Division look embarrassingly simple.

Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest won the First Division title in 1977-78, just a year after promotion from the Second Division. It remains one of the most remarkable achievements in English football history. Forest then won back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, elevating a provincial club to the summit of the continental game. Matches against Arsenal during this era carried genuine weight, with both sides competing at the top of the table.

Clough's farewell after 18 years; Arsenal's rise began exactly where Forest's fell away.

The inaugural Premier League season of 1992-93 proved to be Brian Clough's last at Forest. Relegation followed, and Clough retired after 18 years at the City Ground. Arsenal, under George Graham, were building a side known for its defensive resilience. The two clubs' paths diverged sharply: Arsenal became a fixture of the Premier League's elite, while Forest began a long period of fluctuation between divisions.

115 years stood between Preston's unbeaten season and Arsenal's, with Forest the only other club to share that rare distinction in English football.

Arsène Wenger's Arsenal went the entire 2003-04 Premier League season unbeaten, the first club to achieve this since Preston North End in 1889. Nottingham Forest, the only other club to go a full top-flight season unbeaten (in 1977-78, though they drew more games), watched from the lower divisions. It was a poignant connection between two clubs separated by circumstance but linked by a rare distinction in English football history.

Ninety-three years of Highbury history, exchanged for 60,704 seats and a modern matchday balance sheet.

Arsenal left Highbury after 93 years and moved to the 60,704-capacity Emirates Stadium in Ashburton Grove. The new ground brought increased matchday revenue and a modern hospitality experience, though fans mourned the intimacy of the old Marble Halls. Forest, still outside the top flight, would not visit the new stadium for over a decade.

Twenty-three years of exile, ended by a single goal at Wembley.

Nottingham Forest won promotion via the Championship play-offs in May 2022, beating Huddersfield Town 1-0 at Wembley. It ended a 23-year exile from the top flight. The fixture with Arsenal was renewed at the Emirates for the first time in the Premier League era, bringing together two clubs with deep histories and a shared appreciation for attacking football.

Both clubs arrive at the Emirates with genuine top-of-the-table ambitions, a competitive edge the fixture has not carried since the late 1970s.

Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have established themselves as serious title challengers, finishing second in consecutive seasons. Nottingham Forest, under Nuno Espírito Santo, have consolidated their Premier League status and pushed into the upper reaches of the table. The fixture at the Emirates now carries a competitive edge not seen since the late 1970s, with both clubs harbouring genuine ambitions at the top of the English game.